Five days after Jules Bianchi’s life-threatening crash at Suzuka, there is “no significant change” in his health condition, father Philippe has revealed.
Bianchi’s father was speaking on Thursday to the French daily Nice-Matin, adding that the messages of support from the F1 paddock and around the world have been encouraging to the family. “It really has been tremendous and something that I could not even imagine,” he said, “even if I know that Jules is a nice boy.”
As for 25-year-old Bianchi’s condition, however, Philippe admitted that the situation is very serious. “Professor Saillant and the Italian specialist who came at the request of Ferrari are cooperating fully with the local doctors,” said Philippe Bianchi. “So he could not be better cared for. There are no significant changes. Everyone knows that he is in a critical phase. “But Jules fights like he has always fought. Just as in the races. He is strong.” Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Bianchi’s siblings Tom and Melanie have travelled to Japan to be with their brother, as has the Marussia driver’s best friend Lorenz. Philippe said he has not seen footage of his son’s crash. “I do not want to see the video,” he insisted. “It is difficult to speak of a racing incident. To me, it’s more like a traffic accident. “Depending on what happens, I will surely have something to say later.”
Charlie Whiting’s investigation into the circumstances of Sunday’s crash is now set to be handed down, and Italy’s Autosprint claims video footage and team telemetry will show that Bianchi did not significantly slow despite yellow flags. Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen said: “It’s always easy afterwards to say what should have happened. “It was an unfortunate accident,” the Finn told Turun Sanomat newspaper in Russia, “and none of us want to see someone get hurt. I hope Jules gets better.”
